Wrapping machine



Feb. 11, 1930. VAN BUREN 1,746,448

WRAPPING MACHINE Filed June 19, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet l HNVENTOR claim Uanflunsn ATTO 5Y3 Feb. 11, 193%.

J. VAN BUREN WRAPPING MACHINE Filed. June 19, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet. 2

INVENTOR John UanBurcn BY 4 T M/wk ATTORNEY Feb 11, 1930. J. VAN BUREN 1,746,448

WRAPPING MACHINE Filed June 19, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 imi INVENTOR Jbhn Uanfiwran Feb. 11, 1930.. J. VAN BUREN WRAPPING MACHINE Filed June 19. 925

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR John Uanfiuran atented Feb. 11, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT ounce Application filed June 19, 1925. SeIiaI No. 38,167.

This invention relates to wrapping ma- Fig. 4. is a sectional elevation taken subchines and the machine about to be described stantially on line H of Fig. 3; as an embodiment of the invention has been Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation taken on line designed particularly for wrapping cakes of 5-5 of Fig. 1; v 5 soap, although, of course, the invention is not Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation taken sub- 55 limited to this specific use. stantially on line 6-6 of Fig. 1; One of the objects of this invention is to Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation taken subprovide a simple and practical mechanism stantially on line 77 of Fig. 6; for feeding the articles to be wrapped into the Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation taken substam machine. tially on line 88 of Fig. 6; 60

Another object of the invention is to pro- Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation taken subvide feeding means for the wrapper so constantially on line 9-9 of Fig. 3; and structed and arranged that the feed of the Fig. 10 is a sectional elevation taken subwrappers will be speeded up, thus increas- .stantially on line 10--1O of Fig. 3.

- ing the capacity or output of the machine. The invention briefly described consists of 65 Another object of the invention is to proa wrapping machine comprising wrapper vide a wrapper feeding mechanism so confeeding means, means for feeding the articles structed and arranged that the wrapper will to be wrapped, such as cakes of soap, means for not wrinkle or crumple when it is placed placing the wrapper around the article, for

' around the article. folding the ends of the wrapper, applying Another object of the invention is to proadhesive to portions of the ends, and effectvide means for placing wrappers around ing the sealing of the wrapper. I the article to be wrapped in such a manner The wrapper feeding means is so conthat the Wrapper will be properly positioned structed and arranged that the wrapper relative to the article and will not draw or sheets are fed from the hopper in overlapping 75 slide around the edge of the article. relation and the foremostsheet is pulled away Another object of the invention is to profrom or fed ahead of the next succeeding vide improved mechanism for feeding the sheet and also ahead of the drive for thefeed packages through the machine in such a rolls, the feed rolls being so constructed as;

manner that the wrapper will not be disto permit this actionto take place. The wrap- 89 placed and the article, such-as a cake of soap, per and article, such as a cake of soap, are fed will not be damaged. into an oscillatable pocket and means is pro Another object of the invention is to provided for placing longitudinal waves in the vide novel and effective means for placing wrapper to prevent transverse wrinkles thereglue or other adhesive on the ends of the in. It will be understood, however, that as 85 wrapper. the wrapper and article are fed into the Further objects of the invention will appocket, the wrapper is flattened out and has pear from the following specification taken no Waves, creases or wrinkles therein. in connection with the drawings. which form From the pocket the package is fed downa part of this application, and in which wardly into vertical guideways where the 98 Fig. 1 is an elevational view partly in secends are tucked and folded and each package tion showing a machine constructed in acis fed by the packages positioned above it. cordance with the invention; From the foldingand tucking mechanism,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the structure the package passes to the adhesive applying shown in Fig. 1; mechanism where glue or other adhesive is Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view applied to the outwardly extending end porillustrating the wrapper feeding mechanism, tions of the wrapper. From this mechanism, the oscillating pocket and a part of the foldthe packages are pushed into a guideway in ing mechanism, this view being taken subwhich the ends having the adhesive thereon stantially on line 33 of Fig. 2; are folded over the ends .of the package.

Further details of the invention will appear from the following description.

Wrapper feeding mechanism In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, two wrapper sheets are placed around each cake of soap, these sheets being disposed in hoppers 20 and 21. The hoppers 20 and 21 are open at the bottom and pins or sp1kes 22 extend upwardly into the open bottom and into the lower sheets positioned in the hoppers. Each hopper has a pair of rollers 23 and 24 having thereon projecting portions 25 formed of some such material as rubber and ada ted to engage the lower wrapper sheet and feed the sheet laterally from the hopper in position to be engaged by the feed rolls 26 and 27.

Curved guides 28 and.29 receive the sheets from the feed rolls 26 and 27 and direct the sheets downwardly in position to be engaged by feed rolls 30 and 31.

The rolls just described may be driven in any desired manner and in the form of the invention illustrated, a shaft is driven by a chain 36 from drive shaft 37. The shaft 35 is positioned below the hopper 20 and is geared as illustrated to therollers 23 and 24 below this ho per and the roller 24 is geared .through an i ler 38 to the rollers 26 and 27 disposed adjacent the hopper 20.

The shaft 35 is connected by. a gear 40 and chain 41 to a gear 42 mounted on the shaft of the roller 24 disposed below the hopper 21. This roller is connected through an idler gear 43 to drive the roller 23 and is connected through an idler gear 44 to drive the feed rolls 26 and 27 disposed adjacent the hopper 21. The feed roll 27 just mentioned is connected through an idler 45 to drive the feed rolls 30. and 31. I

From a. consideration of the operation of the rollers 23 and 24, it will be evident that after the lower sheet in each hopper has been engaged and fed laterally by the rollers 23 and 24, the second sheet or the sheet immediately above the lower sheet will be engaged and fed and this engagement and feeding will take lace before the lower sheet has entirely left t e hopper. Thus the two lower sheets will be fed simultaneously in overlapping relation into the guides 28 and 29.

The idler gear 45 is so connected to drive the feed rolls 30 and 31 thatthe feed rolls can rotate ahead of the drive. This connection is made in the following manner. Gear 45 meshes with a gear 46 and gear 46 in turn meshes with a gear 47. Each of'these gears has mounted thereon a pawl 48 and these pawls are spring-pressed by springs 49 into engagement with ratchets 50. y The ratchets 50 are mounted on shafts 51 which carry the feed rolls. Thus as the gear 45 rotates the gears 46 and 47, these gears in turn through the pawl and ratchet connections rotate the feed rolls. It be evident, however, that the feed rolls can rotate in a direction to permit the material to ass therebetween independently of their rive by the gearing connection described, thus permitting the :hegts to pass between the rolls ahead of the Means has been provided for drawing the wrappers through the rolls 30 and 31 at a rate faster than the rate at which they would be fed by the gearing. This means comprises a pair of feed rolls 55 and 56 mounted vertically below the rolls 30 and 31. The roll 55 is carried by a bar 57 adjustably secured to the lower end of a support 58, and the support 58 is secured at its upper end as shown at 59 to a frame member 60.

The roll 56 is carried by a bar 61 vertically adjustable on a support 62 which is hingedly connected at its upper end as shown at 63 to a frame member 64. In order to hold the feed rolls 55 and 56 in coacting relation, a bolt 65 is pivoted to the support 62 and is adapted to swing between a pair of lugs 66 formed on the sup ort 58. A thumb nut 70 is threaded on the It 65 and a spring 71 is positioned between the thumb nut and a washer 72, the washer being disposed in a position to engage the outer edges of the lugs 66. In this manner, the feed rolls 55 and 56 will be held in coacting relation and in a (position to feed the wrapper sheets downwar ly. By providing a vertical adjustment for the rolls, the distance from the rolls to the bottom of the slot 105, hereinafter described, can be regulated to accommodate different sizes of sheets.

The feed rolls 55 and 56 as shown in Fig. 9 are so constructed and arranged as to form longitudinal waves in the sheets as they pass therebetween. This is accomplished by providing a plurality of rings or annular portions 75 and 76 on each roll, the rings 75 having a smaller diameter than the rings 76. As

illustrated in F ig. 9, the rings 75 on one of the rolls will be disposed opposite rings 76 on the other roll. In this manner longitudinal waves are formed in the sheet and the purpose of these waves is to strengthen the sheet and prevent transverse wrinkling or crumpling,

Guide wires 78 which are disposed on opposite sides of the sheets extend downwardly from the feed rolls 30 and 31 to the feed rolls 55 and 56.

Below the feed rolls 55 and 56 is mounted a guide 79 having an undulating guideway corresponding to the waves formed in the sheets by the rings 75 and 76 carried by the feed rolls 55 and 56.

The rolls 55 and 56 are driven by a. gear 80 which in turn is driven by the chain 36.

Article feeding mchanism It will be understood that the mechanism hereinafter described may be used for feeding and wrapping any desired form of article As t e plunger 93 is retracted, the cakes are prevented from being also retracted by the downward pressure of the cakes on the in clined guide or chute 92. Thus the plunger 93 slides from beneath the foremost cake and permits it to drop on a shelf 95.

lln order to insure the proper positioning of the cake on the shelf as shown at 90A. in Fig. 1, the presser foot 97 carried by an arm 98 is dis osed above the foremost cake and is adapts to engage this cake in position on the shelf 95. The arm 98 is pivoted at 99 and carries a roller 100 engageable by a cam 101 whereby the arm will be tilted and'the presser foot will be brought into action at the proper time in the sequence of operations. The cam 101 is carried by a shaft 102 which has mounted thereon a gear or sprocket 103 driven by the chain 36.

When the cake is positioned on the shelf 95, it is disposed directly in front of the forward end of the plunger 93. p

. Wrapping mechanism During the operation of feeding the cakes to the shelf 95, the inner and outer wrappers will have been fed downwardly from the chutes 20 and 21 and these operations are so timed that when the plunger 93 moves toward the left in Fig. 1, the wrapper sheets will extend downwardly into .a slot 105 across the path of movement of the cake when the cake is fed.

The first element of the wrapping mecha nism' consists of an oscillating pocket adapted to oscillate from the substantially horizontal position as shown in Fig. 3 in which position it receives the soap and wrappers to vertical position as shown in Fig. 1 from which position the package or the soap and wrappers are discharged into the tucking and folding mechanism hereinafter described.

The oscillating pocket is mounted on a 'pivot shaft 111 and is substantially U-shaped in section. It will be noted that the pivot shaft is located in a position in alinement with a portion of the pocket. (See 3.) Thus the cake of soap or other article in the pocket is oscillated through an angle of 90 about anaxis intersecting or in ahnement with a portion of the article itself. This minimizes any tendency of the article to be thrown from the pocket during its oscillation.

The sides of the pocket carry plates 112 and 113 which are resiliently forced inwardly by springs 114. The plates are-mounted on pins 115 which extend through the sides of the pocket and have secured in their outer ends pins 116 which limit the inward movement of the plates under the action of the springs. At each end of the pocket there is secured a lip 118 and as shown in Fig. 5, these lips form tucks 119 in the wrapper at one edge of the ends of the cake.

A plate 120 is disposed in the pocket/be tween the plates 112 and 113' and has secured thereto rods or plungers 121 which extend through the rear wall 122 of the pocket and are slidable therein. The plates 112 and 113 are resiliently pressed against the plate 120.

"When the pocket is in the position shown in Fig. 3 but before the cake has been fed thereinto, the plate 120 is disposed at the en- ,trance to the pocket, As the calre is fed into due to such displacement of the wrappers during the progress of the package through the machine.

When the cake and wrapper are pushed into the pocket by the plunger, the wrapper is positioned around one side or faceof the cake, aroundthe rear edge and around the other face of the cake and the remaining portion of the wrapper shown at 125 in Fig. 3 remains in the slot 105. Furthermore, as above explained, the tucks 119 are formed in the ends ofthe wrapper.

When the cake and wrapper have been placed in the pocket as above described, the pocket 110 is oscillated from the position shown in' Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 1 and the portions 1250f the wrappers will be guided by a curved guide surface 126, this guiding function being clearly shown in Fig.1. I

After the oscillating pocket has been moved to vertical position by means of a reciprocatory pitman the pocket is disposed in position to have the package discharged therefrom. The. pitman 130 is operatively connected to the oscillatory shaft 111 of the pocket by means of a rack 131 formed on the lower bifurcated end of the pitman' and a pinion 132 carried by the shaft 111. The pitman is actuated by a cam 133 in which is positioned a roller 134 carried by the pitman.

The rear end of the pitman is'bifurcated as shown at 135 and straddles the shaft 37.

The discharge is accomplished by forcing the lungers 121 and the late 120 downwardly into the pocket, thus orcing the package out of the pocket. The plungers 121 are moved downwardly by an actuating arm 136 having at one end thereof a cross plate 137 adapted to engage the upper end of the plungers 121. The arm 136 is oscillated about a pivot 138 by means of a crank pin 139 carried by the shaft 37 and engaging the slot 140 in the arm 136.

From the pocket 110, the packages are discharged vertically into a vertical guideway 150. At the up r end of the guideway are disposed upwar ly extending spring lips 151, these members being disposed on the side edges of the guideway, and bein adapted to form tucks 152 in the ends of the wrappers opposite the tucks 119. Thus when the cake reaches the position shown at 90B in Fig. 5, there are two tucks at each end of the wrapper and the wrapper extends outwardly beyond each end of the cake forming substantially parallel projections in alinement with the faces of the cake.

One of these projections at each end of the cake is folded across the end of the cake by means of an inclined slot 153 formed at the side edges of the guideway 150. One projection at each end extends into this slot 153 and is folded by the slot across the end of the cake so that after the cake has passed through the intermediate position in the vertical guideway to the lower position or to a position at the bottom of the guideway, the wrapper will project beyond the ends of the cake only at one edge thereof.

Attention is called to the fact that no extraneous feeding mechanism is provided for engaging the cakes and feeding them downwardly through the guideway, each cake being fed downwardly by the cakes positioned above it. Thus the feeding of the cakes involves no engagement of feeding fingers or other devices with the wrappers, which engagement tends to displace the wrappers, or

unwrap the cakes or in some cases to damage the cakes.

The bottom cake shown at 90C in Fig. 7 is positioned above a shelf 160 and is limited in its downward movement by the shelf.

Adhesive applying mechanism I 162 have their lower portions extending into the glue and engage a pair of disks 163, the rollers 162 being adapted to transfer the ad- 'hesive to the disks 163 which in turn transfer the adhesive to the projecting ends 164 of the wrapper (see Fig. 5). The disks the arm is engageable by a roller 169 carried by an arm 170 mounted on a shaft 171 which 167 as shown at 168 and the portion 168 of in turn is mounted in brackets 172 secured to the base 173 of the machine. The shaft 171 is oscillated by a crank 174 which is connecteg by a link 175 to a crank 176 on the shaft 3 Each of the arms 166 has pivoted thereon a pawl 180 which engages a ratchet 181 con nected to the shaft 167.

The shafts 165 and 167 are operatively connected at both ends by gears 182 and 183. Each ratchet wheel 181 is engaged by a pawl 185 mounted below the ratchet wheel and spring-pressed into engagement therewith by a spring 186. The pawls 185 are mounted on fixed pivots and do not rotate with the ratchet wheels as in the case of pawls 180 carried by the arms 166.

The arms 166 are normally retained in re tracted position by means of springs 188 secured to the arms and fixed at their opposite ends as shown at 189. a

The adhesive applying mechanism operates in the following manner: When the foremost cake is positioned on the shelf 160, the disks 163 will be retracted and after the cake has been so positioned, the actuating arms 170 will engage the extensions 168 of the links 164 and swing the links in an anti-clockwise direction about the shaft 167. As the links are thus swung, the pawls 180 carried by the links will engage the ratchet wheels 181 and rotate the shaft 167 and the rollers 162. Also by reason of the geared connection 182, 183

between the shafts 165 and 167, the disks 163v will be rotated. In this manner, a supply of adhesive is always insured for the projecting ends 164 of the wrapper.

Package discharging mechanism After the projecting ends 164 of the wrapper have been supplied with adhesive, the

'cakes are discharged into a substantially horizontal guideway having a bottom or supporting surface 190 and side walls 191 (see Figs. 2 and 6). The side walls are extended laterally to form flanges 193 and as shown in Fig. 6, the projecting portions 164 of the wrapper are positioned against these flanges when the disks 163 are applying adhesive thereto.

In order to discharge the cakes into the guideway, a reciprocable plunger is mounted in alinement with the guideway and is provided with a plate 201 adapted to engage the packages and force them into the uideway. The plunger has rearwardl extemfing guide rods 203 slidably mounted in bearings 204 and the plunger is reciprocated by a pitman or connecting rod 205 pivoted at 206 to the plunger plate 201 and connected at its rear end to a crank 207 mounted on a shaft 208. The shaft 208 has mounted therein a gear or sprocket 209 which is driven by the chain 36. As the packages are forced b the plunger into the horizontal guideway, the projectmg ends 164- are folded across the ends of the cake and are held thereagainst by side walls 191 of the giiidew ay. From the guideway the packages pass between a pair of 'conveyer elts 210 (one of which is shown) and the cakes are conveyed away from the machine by said conveyers.

Operation The machine above described operates as i follows: \Vra per sheets are fed laterally and downwardly rom the hoppers 20 and 21, the feed being accelerated when the sheets are engaged by the feed rollers 55 and 56. This acceleration of the feed is permitted by the rollers and 31 because of the pawl and ratchet drive for these rollers. Longitudinal waves are formed in the sheets as they pass between the rings 7 5 and 76 carried by the rollers and 56, these waves being formedfor the purpose of preventing transverse wrinkles or folds in the sheets.

a In the meantime, the cakes 90 have been fed downwardly onto the plunger 93 and one of the cakes will have been positioned on the shelf 95 when the wrapper sheets are disposed in the path of movement of the cake. When these operations have taken place, the pocket 110 will be, disposed in receiving position and the foremost cake and wrappers will be forced into the pocket. During the movement of the cake and wrapper into the pocket, the wrapper or wrappers will be prevented from sliding around the cake by reason of the engagement of the sheetsvwith the plate 120. During this movement also tucks 119 will be formedin the ends of the Wrap er.

After the wrappers and ca e have been.

placed in the pocket, the pocket will be oscillated'to the position shown in Fig. 1 and the plungernrods 121 will be actuated to force the plate 120 to discharge the package into the vertical guideway 150. As the cake and wrappers pass through the guideway, tucks 152 will be formed therein and the wrapper will be folded across the ends of the cake so that portions 164 extend beyond the ends substantially in alinement with one face thereof.

The packages are fed downwardly through the guideway by the new packages entering the guideway and when the foremost package is positioned on the shelf 160, adhesive is applied to the projecting ends 164- of the wrapper thereof'by means'of the disks 163. After the adhesive has been applied, the

A plunger operates to discharge the cake into the horizontal guideway or passageway.

Although one specific embodiment of the invention has been particularly shown and described, it will be understood that the invention is capable of modification and that changes in the construction and in the arrangement of the variouscooperating parts may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, as expressed in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a wrapping machine, an oscillatable pocket, means for feeding an article and wrapper into said pocket, means for oscillating the pocket through an angle of substantially' 90 from receiving to discharging position and reversely through an angle of substantially 90 to receiving position, a plunger mounted on the pocket for discharging the article and wrapper therefrom and means engageable with said plunger when the pocket has been rotated through 90 to discharging position for actuating the plunger to discharge the article and wrapper from the pocket.

2. In a wrapping machine, an oscillatable pocket, means for feeding an article and wrapper into said pocket, means for oscillating the pocket through an angle of substantially 90 from receiving to discharging position and reversely through an angle of substantially 90 to receiving position, a plate positioned in said pocket and adapted to engage the wrapper and act against the inner edge of the article and means operable on the plate after the pocket has been oscillated through 90 to discharging position to move the plate outwardly in the pocket and dis charge the article and wrapper therefrom.

3. In a wrapping machine, an oscillatable pocket pivoted on an axis intersecting the pocket, means for oscillating the pocket through an angle of substantially 90 from a substantially horizontal receiving position to a substantially vertical discharge position, a plate in said pocket, movable from the inner .to the outer end thereof, plungers engaging said plate and means engageable with the plungers when the pocket is in discharging position only for actuating said plunger's and plate to discharge the article and wrapper from the-pocket.

4. In a wrapping machine, an oscillatable pocket movable from receiving position to a substantially vertical position in which the pocket opens downwardly, a vertical guideway having means for folding the wrapper and tucking the ends thereof, means for oscillating the pocket through an angle of substantially 90 from rece1ving'to discharging I position and reversely through an angle of to receiving osition, means 7 substantially for discharging successive pac ages into said guideway one above the other and so constructed and arranged that each dischar of a package from the pocket will cause t e preceding packages to be feddownwardly in the guideway; and means movable in a direction substantiall at right angles to the path of movement 0 the articles through said guide way for discharging the lower package from the guideway.

5. In a wrapping machine, an oscillatable pocket pivoted on an axis intersecting the pocket, means for feeding an article and wrapper into said pocket, means positioned at t e open or receiving end of the pocket when the'article and wrapper are fed thereinto, said means being movable into the I pocket by the article and wrapper and being adapted to hold the wrapper from sliding around the ed e of the article, means for oscillating the pociet from receiving to discharging position and means for actuating the plate to discharge the article and wrapper from the pocket.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 17th day of June, 1925.

JOHN VAN BUREN. 

